I have a specific project in mind that involves recording commercials off of my TV/DVR onto my MacBook Pro. (Specifically: I see a commercial I want to use, rewind the DVR, anduh, somehow connect the TV to my Mac and click Record.) But I haven't seen a product that clearly does this. Does one exist? How would you do it?
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How can I record from my TV to my Mac?
- Thread starter happywaffle
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If you already have a DVR and it has firewire outputs you can use the Apple Firewire SDK and a firewire cable to copy non-encrypted recordings to your Mac. Download the Firewire SDK bundle and use the AVCVidCap application. Connect your DVR to your Mac via firewire 400. AVCVidCap should recognize the DVR. If it does, queue up what you want to stream on the DVR and hit play as you click to record in AVCVidCap.
Note that this will not work on 5c copy protected content (meaning most cable channels), nor will it work on all DVRs. I have a Motorola rental unit from Comcast and it works just fine.
To play the stream, you can use VLC or MPEG Streamclip with the MPEG2 component installed. You can purchase the component from Apple.
Note that this will not work on 5c copy protected content (meaning most cable channels), nor will it work on all DVRs. I have a Motorola rental unit from Comcast and it works just fine.
To play the stream, you can use VLC or MPEG Streamclip with the MPEG2 component installed. You can purchase the component from Apple.
Out of curiosity, do new people find it better to ask on MR forums about stuff they can easily Google? One of the first items that pop up when you search for "record TV to Mac" is the eye tv. Are they more interested in conversation?
If the OP had only googled he would have missed the solution "spice weasel" suggested. Also you get here often more information than just a product name and the companies advertisement. You get real user experience and a recommendation what product is best under what circumstances. And a conversation might help you a lot more with you specific situation than a high ranked google hit.
Out of curiosity, why does it bother you so much that people come here for support?
I agree with andiwm. You get user experience , help, and things you wouldn't think of to help with the problems. It can also save time, since you might not have to dig to find the best solution. I admit that there are some pretty stupid posts that could easily be solved by a simple google search.
Out of curiosity, why do people care how one goes about to find information on the web? I love the MR forums, but I hate the posts like these and also the ones where people spam links from mroogle.
But back to the topic, I hear the Eye TV is very good, definitely look into that.
In addition to using Firewire Recording or a USB device, you might want to use a miniDV camcorder and iMovie. If you already have a miniDV camcorder (or have easy access), this is almost a no-brainer. Especially if you want to edit these commercials.
